


Study of Arachnids

by HighSidhe



Series: Random Snippets and Crossovers [5]
Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, Spiders, study of spiders
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-07
Updated: 2016-12-07
Packaged: 2018-09-07 02:17:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8779213
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HighSidhe/pseuds/HighSidhe
Summary: Only a few months ago, Bilbo was battling spiders and collecting their venom for study. Dying of boredom in the Shire, the chance of adventure is starting to look all too enticing.





	

He missed his home. 

Not the respectable hobbit hole he was currently living in. That was only a house that he had inherited when his mother had died several years ago. The place that he considered his home was far away, and Bilbo could no longer live there. 

For nearly thirty years he had lived in a decrepit old forest, fighting every day for survival against large spiders that would have happily dined on his flesh if given half a chance. While he would have liked to continue living there, Bilbo had to face facts. He wasn't as young as he used to be, and he wasn't keen on dying strung up in a spider's nest, even if it would have been heavily ironic. 

More than that, however, was the darkness that had been steadily spreading across Mirkwood. The spiders were proof that it had existed, but over the years Bilbo had witnessed the steady growth of its power, and just as he had become aware of it, it had become aware of him. He couldn't quite pinpoint the day he had realized that the spiders were practically living on his doorstep, that orcs regularly attacked him on his rounds, and that he almost constantly had the prickling sensation of being watched.

Bilbo was not paranoid, contrary to what most would assume given where he was living. He had decent if not distant relations with the woodland elves, and they kept the borders reasonably safe. Even they had not been able to keep up with the growing tide of evil swarming across their borders. 

It was only time before he was overwhelmed.

As much as he loved the forest, he had also recognized that it was time to leave.

Drawings littered his study, drawings of the arachnids that he had devoted his life to studying. Books filled with notes concerning the various species and mating habits of the inhabitants of Mirkwood were scattered around as well. 

The spiders in and of themselves weren't the only reason that he had eventually left. He hadn't been the only one living in those forests, and while elves and spiders were easily enough avoided, something darker had been growing in the shadows. He admittedly didn't know much about history, but the forest itself was diseased, and it had grown worse of late. The elven patrols had picked up, and the hunting parties were larger with more guards present to protect the hunters, and he'd nearly gotten gutted by a traveling orc pack. 

Mirkwood was no longer safe. 

He felt like he was going mad in the peacefulness of the Shire. It had not been easy obtaining Bag End from his cousins, and honestly Bilbo didn't actually care for the house that much, except that it had ample space which was exactly what he needed for his experiments with the arachnid venom he had brought with him. He had plenty of the stuff that he had been collecting and studying for over thirty years, and Bilbo had already discovered that variations of one form could be used to treat a common spider bite found in the Shire. 

Odd as he was, Bilbo was rarely bothered by his hobbit neighbors, and he was quite content with that. 

Sadly the same could not be said for wizards and dwarves. 

"Can I help you?" He asked politely in the midst of collecting what meagre mail he had. 

There was something about the elderly gent that was niggling at the tip of his tongue. Bilbo recognized him but he could not place where he could possibly have seen him before. He didn't look like the sort one would forget either. 

"Yes, I believe you can." He seemed to be talking to himself more than Bilbo. "I'm looking for someone to join us on an adventure." 

"Who do you mean by 'us'?" Bilbo asked, more than a little curious. 

Adventures and traveling weren't really his style, contrary to what everyone in Westfarthing seemed to think. He had only traveled from Mirkwood back out of necessity. He liked the cold and the rain about as much as the next person, and he was well aware of just how much of both were present on so-called 'adventures'. 

He probably wouldn't have even considered his words if he were still living in Mirkwood, but alas, the sprightly hobbit had become accustomed to being busy, and there just wasn't much he could do here at the Shire. Plus it was entirely too sunny and warm. Most of his neighbors would find it blasphemous, but he had come to prefer the cool damp of Mirkwood. 

"My companions and I, of course." He answered with a benign smile. "We're looking for a burglar of sorts."

Bilbo raised an eyebrow slightly. "What exactly are you planning on stealing?" He was many things, but a thief was not one of them. 

"A kingdom." The older man answered with a knowing glint in his eyes.

**Author's Note:**

> Not beta'd.
> 
> Bilbo and Beorn are totally bros.


End file.
